A man who was attacked by his fellow prisoners for sexually assaulting a young girl and trying to rape another was told he is 'still in denial' after he was jailed for a decade.

Luke Doran, 31, was first convicted on September 28, 2017 after a lengthy trial for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 back in 2016.

He was then found guilty of six further counts at a subsequent trial on November 9 last year for historic sex offences dating back to when he was 15, including the attempted rape of a five-year-old girl.

Doran, of Weign Drive in Witham, has been remanded in custody since his first conviction and was finally sentenced for his list of crimes at Chelmsford Crown Court this morning (Tuesday April 24).

He was told by Judge Patricia Lynch QC that he should be 'ashamed' of his actions as he sat motionless in the dock.

But Jamie Sawyer, mitigating on behalf of Doran, told the court that there were some good elements to his character.

He said: "He is still a relatively young man in his 30s looking at a long prison sentence.

"He has been victimised in custody and has been picked on by other prisoners, which has been the inevitable result of his beahviour.

"He has come to court before your honour with black eyes - he is struggling in custody. Your honour will have seen the effect custody will have on him but it is no one's fault but his own."

Mr Sawyer also highlighted that the incidents were spontaneous actions and not 'engineered' by Doran.

"He did not engineer these incidents," Mr Sawyer added.

"He has positive aspects to his character. He has proven to be a good friend at work and has held down a job for a number of years. He trained in the armed forces but never served and was medically discharged - but he is still proud of this.

"He suffered a personal bereavement when his mum passed away in 2015. That has never been dealt with properly - it is only in custody has he reflected upon that. He is now on an anti-depressant course."